Words My Professor Banned (and Why They Low-Key Deserved It)
feat. my heartbreak but also my character development
My professor is a Literary Manager, so when she lays down a rule, it’s basically law. So when she announced she was banning certain words from our writing vocab, I knew I had to clutch my chest and take it seriously. It hurt, because I’m basically the spiritual leader of the Church of “seems/seemingly,” but once I actually thought about why she cut them, I had to sit there like… oh. Oh, this is why half my old pieces read like the literary equivalent of diluted piss. Cutting these words isn’t cruelty — it’s a mercy killing.
“Begins to / Starts to”
Why it got axed:
It’s limp. It stalls the action. It’s like your sentence is buffering.
Substitutions:
Swap “starts to walk” for “walks.”
Swap “begins to cry” for “tears spill.”
Cut the middleman. Commit to the action.
“Just” (when it means barely)
Why it got axed:
It’s filler. It sneaks in everywhere and weakens the vibe.
Substitutions:
“barely”
“only”
Or straight up remove it.
“She just nodded.” becomes “She nodded.”
Cleaner. Stronger. More confident.
“Very”
Why it got axed:
It’s the flimsiest intensifier alive. It’s like putting a sticker on a sticker.
Substitutions:
Upgrade the adjective: “very angry” becomes “furious.”
Or use a more vivid detail: “very cold” becomes “cold enough to bite.”
Let your nouns and verbs pull weight.
“Seems / Seemingly / Seems to be” (yes, I am still in mourning)
Why it got axed:
It’s apologetic. It distances you from your own description. It screams “idk man?? maybe??”
Substitutions:
State it directly (“The house is quiet.”)
Or show ambiguity without the word (“The house stood quiet, like it was holding something back.”)
Confidence! Even in description.
“Tries / Tries to”
Why it got axed:
It makes the action feel half-hearted even when it’s not meant to.
Substitutions:
Cut it: “She tries to smile” becomes “She smiles, shaky at the edges.”
Or express the failure without the limp phrasing: “She reaches for the door, but her hand falls short.”
The Intensity Crimes (aka Any Weak Intensifier) Words like: really, quite, totally, basically
Why they got axed:
They clog your sentences with words that hold no substance.
Substitutions:
Replace with sharper imagery
Replace with stronger verbs/adjectives
Delete them entirely (your prose will literally level up instantly)
✍️ Final Thoughts
My professor wasn’t trying to ruin my lives — she’s trying to force me into precision. Into choosing words that actually do something.
Once you cut these fluff phrases, your writing stops hedging and starts hitting.
